"Kuroo, that guy is totally staring at us, isn't he?"

  Kozume Kenma had always been highly sensitive to the gazes of those around him. As soon as the warm-up begaiced a pyer on the opposing team sizing up Nekoma's members one by one.

  "Oh? Isn't that just like you?" Kuroo Tetsurō smirked mischievously.

  "I don't have that habit," Kenma retorted, shooting him a gre.

  "Sure you do."

  "Do not."

  "You do."

  "Don't."

  "You—"

  Tweet!

  The referee's whistle cut through their bickering, signalling that the match was about to begin. Both teams were instructed to take their positions.

  "——We are the blood." Nekoma's pyers huddled into a circle, their voices low but unified. "We must flow freely and smoothly, carrying oxygen to ehe 'brain' fun properly!"

  Kenma: "…"

  He wao disappear on the spot!

  "Let's go!" Kuroo raised his hand with enthusiasm.

  "Oh!!" the team responded in unison.

  Kenma, his face painted with exasperation, muttered, "Kuroo…. we not do this kind of pep talk ime? It's….embarrassing."

  "Why not? It's great! It's all about the vibe, Kenma, the vibe!" Yamamoto Taketora excimed, striding toward his position with a broad grin.

  Kai Nobuyuki chimed in, smiling at Kenma. "Think of it as a form of self-suggestion. It's kind of cool, don't you think?"

  Kenma: "…"

  Kuroo ughed and patted Kenma on the shoulder. "That's the spirit! Alright, let's take the court."

  Oher side of the , Aoba Johsai had withe entire pre-game ritual.

  Taichi thought to himself, That kind of team t feels overly dramati real life.

  "Wow, that was so cool! Don't you think so, Taichi?" The eic voice of Kindaichi Yūtarō saichi out of his thoughts. "When are we gonna start doing something like that for Seijoh?"

  Taichi: "…"

  Right. I almost fot. Eveypically rational Aoba Johsai had its fair share of oddballs.

  The game began.

  Aoba Johsai's starting lineup:

  Front row: Setter Oikawa Tōru, middle blocker Kaedehara Taichi, and wing spiker Kunimi Akira.

  Back row: Opposite hitter Hanamaki Takahiro, middle blocker Matsukawa Issei, and outside hitter Iwaizumi Hajime (libero Watari Shinji).

  Nekoma's starting lineup:

  Front row: Middle blocker Inuoka Sō, wing spiker Yamamoto Taketora, and wing spiker Kai Nobuyuki.

  Back row: Setter Kozume Kenma, wing spiker Fukunaga Shōhei, and middle blocker Kuroo Tetsurō (libero Yaku Morisuke).

  Nekoma served. Kenma sent the ball toward Iwaizumi Hajime.

  Oh? The ball flew toward the er—not powerful, but the pt recise and tricky!

  "Iwa-!"

  Iwaizumi stepped to the side, perfectly receiving the ball and sending it toward the ideal spot above Oikawa.

  The extra receive training has really paid off, Oikawa noted, impressed. A few days ago, Iwa- would've mao dig the ball, but it wouldn't have been this .

  From the er of his eye, Oikawa caught sight of Kaedehara Taichi already jumping at the .

  Bang!

  The 'Taichi-Oikawa Quick' unleashed its first strike!

  Taichi spiked the ball ly through Nekoma's defence, sg the first point.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 0 Nekoma]

  Coaekomata was startled. "What was that?!"

  Inuoka Sō tilted his head in fusion. "A quick attack….from there?!"

  Even Yaku Morisuke leaned forward from the back row, his expression frozen in shock.

  On the opposing team, Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tōru exged a gnd broke into identical sly grins.

  Suddenly, Taichi felt a chill run down his spiurning around, his sharp instincts caught an unusual pair of eyes staring at him. Those eyes sparkled with an uling iy.

  It was Kozume Kenma. He stood motionless, his gaze locked onto Taichi as though he were reading his every thought.

  When Taichi turo meet his stare, Kenma gave a small nod and said in his usual calm voice, "That was impressive. A fasating spike, really…"

  The serve came from Aoba Johsai. Kunimi Akira delivered a straightforward serve, his casual demeanor betraying nothing.

  Hmm? Kaedehara squihe angle was oddly precise. Lucky, maybe? He g Kunimi, who still looked as indifferent as ever.

  On Nekoma's side, Fukunaga Shōhei positioned himself beh the ball and received it ly, sending it gracefully toward Kenma.

  Iwaizumi Hajime's expression sharpehe receive erfect!

  Kenma, as always, seemed to hesitate. He observed the ball in silence, making no move until it was nearly overhead. Then, with impeccable timing, he set the ball to the left.

  "Rahh!" Yamamoto Taketora roared as he smmed the ball down with full force.

  But Hanamaki Takahiro and Oikawa Tōru, just a fra of a sed too slow in their block, let the ball slip through to the back row.

  Watari Shinji barely mao dig the ball.

  Oikawa, qui his feet, retrieved it a it flying toward Taichi, who once agai at the .

  "Double block!" Yamamoto and Kai jumped in unison to intercept him.

  Bang!

  The ball deflected off their hands and nded in Hanamaki's waiting palms, who delivered a sharp spike.

  Aoba Johsai scored again.

  [Aoba Johsai 2 – 0 Nekoma]

  "So far, Nekoma doesn't seem all that strong," Kindaichi Yūtarō remarked, turning to chat with whoever was closest. He froze when he realized the persoo him was Kyōtaarō, whose perpetually fierce expression offered no fort.

  Embarrassed, Kindaichi turned back, muttering to himself. With Kunimi preoccupied on the court, there was no oo talk to.

  "But something about this feels off," Yahaba Shigeru said, pig up where Kindaichi left off. "If this is the extent of Nekoma's skill, they wouldn't have maheir ret streak of victories."

  Kindaichi looked at Yahaba with newfound admiration. "Yahaba-senpai—! I thought you were just calm on the surface but actually shallow. Turns out you're pretty sharp!"

  Yahaba: "…"

  Ba the court, Aoba Johsai maintaihe upper hand. Their attacks were varied and effective, sistently sg points. Nekoma, oher hand, seemed stu defence, barely holding the gap with their multi-pronged offensive pys.

  Fortunately for Nekoma, Oikawa's serve—a powerful jump serve—sailed out of bounds. Otherwise, the score differential might have widened further.

  The current score: [Aoba Johsai 12 – 8 Nekoma]

  "Hooints has their #10 scored so far?" Coaekomata asked the team manager who was keeping stats.

  "Of their 12 points, #10 has scored 4 directly. Plus, his presence as a decoy has boosted the success rate of their other attackers."

  Nekomata stroked his thoughtfully, his perpetually half-closed eyes opening slightly.

  "I see. He's quite the handful…"

  Tweet! The referee signalled a timeout, requested by Nekoma.

  The pyers gathered around Coaekomata, while the first-years quickly handed out water and towels to their seniors.

  "How's it feeling out there?" the coach asked, looking at his team.

  Yaku wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We're starting to get a handle on most of their attacks, but that quick is….tough to stop for now."

  "Yeah, it's a real headache," Kai added.

  "You mean their #10? His speed and power are tough to deal with."

  "I think Coach is talking about their ace setter," Kuroo interjected, setting his water cup down. "That guy's insane. He deliver pinpois at lightning speed, right at the peak of the spiker's jump. His precision….it's unreal."

  "Hahaha…" Coaekomata suddenly chuckled. "There's no helping it—genius is genius."

  Then, his eyes shifted toward Kenma, who had been silently watg him from the er of the huddle.

  "But Kenma…" Nekomata grinned slyly. "You've already figured it out, haven't you?"

  _________

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